Mechanical Tyranny: No Exceptions
by TealDragonsUnite
Summary: All persons must be converted - it is the only way to prevent the Epidemic from destroying the earth. (Prequel)
1. Chapter 1

Seg stared down towards the chains holding him in place. His patchwork casing was firmly planted to the ground, despite his many, many attempts to show that he was not a threat; to show he could be trusted. It hadn't used to be such tight security… He had once been able to roam around Section 5 with little questions asked about where he was and what he was doing, so long as someone was with him. That was a long time ago, he supposed, but it still seemed fresh in his memory. Things had gone terribly wrong as humanity grew paranoid of a great disease that spread like wildfire, and such paranoia caused his lock down. That and he was considered an asset to those higher up in ranks. News was not uncommon in Section 5, and many, many projects were experimented upon in front of his own eye left and right. No conversions, as he'd discovered the Humans around him called their fiasco turning themselves to vehicles to escape the 'incurable' Epidemic, had happened in Section 5 yet, and he was admittedly curious.

He just hoped he would not suffer the same fate.

Seg seemed safe from such experimentation for the time being, but the idea still haunted his mind. There were times he wished for the innocence of simply being given orders and following them, when his casing was able to suppress instances of fear, doubt, and worry… when his mind and memory was always at ease. It had made living life much easier. Swiveling his head around, he monitored like a hawk the ongoing bustling of Global Dynamics. At least they had been kind in giving him an eagle's eye view to entertain him enough… but hardly. There had been more than one occasion already where his boredom had erupted into a nasty temper and an urge to kill so strong it could not be contained - a remnant of the culture he'd been raised in. Twice they had had to move him simply to be sure he was secure as well as content, or as content as a caged creature could be.

He felt more like a museum piece now than an actual creature, being locked in place, put within a small force field, and yet still out where he could be monitored. Still, very few people stopped to talk so much as glance over him. Perhaps it was better that way, being left alone. Nobody had touched his casing in what felt like at least a year save for being pushed about against his will, and he himself had never had to endure the annoyance of being exposed to bored scientists looking for research subjects or curious engineers looking to understand how cybernetics worked. Now there was simply peace.

That peace would not last long.

There was a new scientist. Or, at least, it was logical to assume he was new. The car was still somewhat shaky on his tires, obviously a recent conversion, his dark eyes daggers to anyone who dared to meet them. He immediately looked around, a hint of boredom entering his expression… that is, until he noticed Seg.

"What _is_ that?" He drove over to where Seg was being held, accidentally brushing against the force field and causing it to spark a little.

"It calls itself a Dalek." The scientist that responded kept her eyes glued to the computer she was working at, hearing the engine nearby and not wanting to see the source. "We generally leave it alone. You can talk to it if you want."

"Sounds like a waste of a subject," he practically sneered, turning back to the creature and looking it over with interest. "What do you even do, anyway?"

"Exterminate all non-Dalek life," Seg answered dryly. "Or, that is what I was bred to accomplish. That directive is no longer my purpose."

"Robots aren't bred, stupid. They're built." He paused, looking back towards an information screen the other scientist pulled up for him, revealing that Seg _did_ have an organic component to him. "...nevermind. But that still doesn't answer my question. What do you do _now_."

"Sit here and look pretty."

"Smart alec. Hey, you," he said, yet again getting the attention of the other scientist. "What's the risk level of taking this thing out of containment?"

"I wouldn't recommend it… we've already had to increase security on him twice."

"Let me rephrase: could it kill _me_."

"Ask him."

His eyes shot straight to Seg. "Well?"

"Are you a threat to me?" the Dalek responded in all seriousness.

"Depends. Will you cooperate?"

Seg's blue eye was just as powerful as the vehicle's. "If you are not a threat."

He sighed, already getting annoyed at the standoff. "No, I'm not a threat. Or, at least, I don't think I am."

There was no doubt that Seg still had his suspicions, but the Dalek's expression was just as unreadable as it had been before. He seemed hesitant to say what he was to say next, his eyestalk swiveling to glance to both sides. "I will… cooperate."

"Good. Now, you-"

"My name is Rose."

"Rose, then. Take the shields down, would you?"

The other scientist did as requested, the distorted air about Seg quickly dissipating as the chains around him loosened. She turned around in her chair, glaring at him with crossed arms. "Just because you're a visitor doesn't mean you can order people around like that. Or hurt our subjects."

"Don't be so concerned. You know why I'm here."

"That's _exactly_ why I'm worried. And also why I've been told not to leave you alone with him."

"I would've had to ask someone to stick around, anyway. Can't use the computers here," he said, turning his attention back to the creature. "That metal surrounding you… you can open it up, can't you?"

There was a moment when a tension Seg hadn't realized he'd been holding released with the chains and lowering of the shield around him. The freedom made it hard for him to snuff the need to simply roam free and escape out of his mind. The new scientist's question made him squirm. "Yes," he answered dutifully, but careful to take no action to suggest he would comply with such an order.

"Then could you please do that?" he asked, irritated.

"No."

"That's not an answer," the car practically snarled. "Explain yourself."

If Seg's unblinking eye wasn't glaring already, it certainly was now. "I do not take orders from you. I will not open my casing. You have no good reason for ordering me to do so, and so I will not."

"Seg, please," the other scientist spoke, "He needs to look at your cybernetics… it's part of an effort to make conversion easier."

Something knotted inside Seg, and he tried to squash the fear he felt down. He trusted Rose more than most, but he was not going to allow himself to be converted without a fight. "No. I will not change my answer."

"You don't understand," she said, looking rather distressed. "Things are going to get really, really bad for you if you don't cooperate, and I'm not gonna be able to do anything to stop-"

"That's enough. It's already made it clear that it's not going to listen. Besides, there's always other methods, correct?"

"Yeah… but I'd really rather not. Seg, you're absolutely sure you're not going to listen?"

He contemplated on it, silenced for several long moments. "I will not."

Rose sighed, rather disappointed with his answer. She grabbed a couple magnetic devices from off one of the tables, putting them in specific places around the center of Seg's casing. With a couple commands from the computer, the shell opened up, revealing the odd creature inside.

The car reversed a little in shock, but quickly got over it. "Good." He kept trying to adjust himself to get a better look at the cybernetics within, almost hitting the other scientist in the process.

"I'd be perfectly capable of preparing him," she stated, trying not to sound annoyed. "I'd just need a little instruction."

"But _I_ don't even know how this thing works."

Seg squirmed, trying desperately to command his casing to close once more. He knew it was useless, but without a fight what dignity could he save. Every cell in his body was on high alert. "I WILL NOT BE CONVERTED. I AM IMMUNE TO YOUR DISEASES. I DO NOT REQUIRE CONVERSION!" he practically screamed, the lights atop his dome illuminating the room with a harsh white light.

Rose blinked a couple times, having temporarily blinded herself by looking directly at the Dalek's lights. "You might be immune, but we still need to know how conversion impacts other species… I don't know why They picked you to test, but that's what happened."

He would not give up so easily, fighting with all his strength to regain control of his casing. He knew it was a hopeless fight, but let it never be said a Dalek simply gave up. "CONDUCT A TEST ON WILLING SUBJECTS!"

"We can't… They said it has to be you."

"There's more to it than _that_ ," the car scoffed, "They always have a reason behind what they do. And this one's classified."

"You have to tell me. Or him. Or, preferably, both of us. It's _protocol_ if you're gonna be messing with something like this." Rose fought the computer, doing everything she could to keep the Dalek from succeeding. She had the upper hand, of course, but the argument was making it harder and harder to keep it that way.

He glared. "I'm. Not. Allowed. The only thing They're permitting me to say is that it involves global security. It'll make it easier for you to monitor him after you're converted, too… but that's just another plus."

The woman froze, her lack of action allowing Seg to close his casing again. "...what?"

"This whole division's gonna be converted. After all active experiments are finished for the time being, anyway. This is the last one going, isn't it?"

"Y-yes. It is." Rose had gone pale at the thought, hands trembling slightly against the keyboard. The car watched her with a sort of satisfaction.

"So the sooner we can get this… thing… converted, the sooner this group will be open to starting new, _fun_ experiments. Don't you want that?" His words sounded reassuring, but his tone told Rose that he was only taunting her.

She swallowed her sick feeling, closing her eyes for a second. "Who wouldn't?" she responded shakily, which seemed to amuse the car even more.

"Good. Now-" the car paused, looking around for a second and quickly realizing what was missing. "Great… that thing was supposed to be delivered _before_ I got here," he muttered, driving back to see if he could locate the missing vehicle.

Rose watched quietly as the car drove away, looking from him, to Seg, and back to the computer. She typed in another command code, the magnetic devices falling off of the Dalek almost instantly. "There is no _way_ I'm letting that happen to you."


	2. Chapter 2

"You said there was no way you could help," Seg pointed out, his casing snapping shut faster than anyone could even blink. He felt far safer now, though he knew the chances of his escaping were slim to none. Section 5 was locked tighter than any other section, and there was no doubt in his mind there were many other sections to get through. Much of the technology he'd once wielded as a strong and ruthless Dalek Commander - technology that might have onced allowed him an easy escape - had been damaged in his long ago crash or promptly destroyed as soon as he was discovered. "I am… concerned that there is no logic in your actions. It is unlikely I will be able to escape. Your chances will be even slimmer if you let me go."

"I couldn't say anything else!" Rose countered defensively. "I'd rather not have a unique creature like you be destroyed like that. A fractional percent chance to get you out is better than no chance at all, which is what it's going to be whenever he finds that car… which might be a while. Besides, I'm as good as converted anyway. You heard him."

"I am not unique, nor important," Seg argued, stubbornness entering his being. Old directives, somehow flipped, took hold. He wasn't leaving without her, even if it lowered both their chances. "You are far more unique. Far more important. The human race must be preserved."

"Seg, there's plenty of humans around, but there's only one of you. You're unique _here_." She pulled her key card out of a pocket in her lab coat. "You can't go alone at first. Hopefully this should get us out of the building… but worst case scenario, you'll be on your own after that."

"They will convert you," there was a sense of urgency in his voice, a growing insanity, even. "That cannot happen. It is not _supposed_ to happen. This is wrong! This is wrong! Wrong! Wrong! YOU MUST ESCAPE!"

"Okay, okay, _fine_ , I'll go with you," Rose hissed, trying to keep him quiet. There were other scientists staring already… much more panicking on Seg's part and the plan would be thwarted. "You're making a scene. Come on, let's go for a walk… it'll be your last one like that," she added, knowing for a fact that others were still paying attention to them. So long as Seth wasn't.

Gears seemed to turn in Seg's mind. He might have lived centuries under the reign of humankind, but the sharpness and intelligence bred into all of his species still thrived. He knew everything about Global Dynamics… or, at least, enough to get him by. Certain areas were always easier to infiltrate, and thereby also escape, and some places simply weren't equipped to hold up to the standard of Seg's gun - even if it had been downgraded many times over since his crash - or the pressure under pure Dalekanium (though, again, his casing wasn't up to par).

There were many other obstacles to get through, but for the moment the most he could hope for was enough time to escape. "Now," he stated in a voice harsh and demanding, a remnant of his past occupation as a Dalek Commander. "Follow me." He waited for her to respond, calculating the safest route out of Section 5.

Rose nodded slightly. "...okay. Just promise not to sacrifice yourself or anything."

There was a room in front of them that had once housed a project drone several years ago, now primarily empty. While his weapons were not fully functioning, he knew the structure of the building. They could escape upwards from that room, as there was a largely unguarded area straight above the drone's former laboratory. From there they'd have to fight their way out, though that would be simple if Seg could recall the instinctual militaristic mind all Daleks shared. How they'd escape the shields around GD was another story - one Seg had not yet calculated out.

"I will not." He stated, each word crisp and clear. He set off at a rather slow but hurried pace to execute his plan, blasting through the door of the now empty laboratory, Rose in tow. He quickly calculated the weak point in the ceiling above, crashing through it with a shaky but purposeful flight path, damaging both the lights on his dome and badly mangling his eyestalk. The urgency in his movements told of an uncontrolled fear and urge to get away. He was no longer a logical and intelligent creature, but a dangerous animal. Upon seeing he had made an opening to the level above, he lowered himself back to the ground. "Hang onto me. We can escape," he nearly ordered Rose, the blue light of his eye flickering oddly from the damage. "We must hurry."

She quickly obeyed, grabbing onto Seg with all her might, swearing that she could hear alarms in the distance. Maybe she was just imagining it, or perhaps someone had just set off the smoke detector again. She didn't know, and, at the moment, she didn't care. All she had to do was survive long enough for Seg to escape.

There were alarms, blaring out for all of Global Dynamics to hear. However, Seg ignored this. Making sure Rose was properly secured upon his back, he took a wobbly beeline upwards. Setting his base down again, allowing for the human to slide off him, he spun his dome around with a horrible grinding sound from the damage. There was no time to properly assess the situation, and nothing within his casing was functioning as it had years ago when he was a fully functioning Dalek commander. There were people in every direction, some with weapons, others without. There were a few vehicles, but from what Seg could tell they were rather newly converted and not likely to have the reaction time that they might have possessed in their former bodies. "Stay close," he said, gun at the ready, even if only any use in temporarily stunning and scaring the current audience.

The Dalek and human slid and walked forwards at a swift pace, with Seg almost wildly shooting at anyone who dared to get near them. His mangled eyestalk made it hard to see, and he hoped Rose would be able to be his lookout in his blindspots. They were close enough to the doors to see them, and Seg hoped desperately that he'd have enough power in his weapon to destroy them if they weren't unlocked.

But Rose didn't listen. Running away from Seg to try to get to the door faster, she quickly pulled out her key card and scanned it on the lock, figuring that it had been disabled already. It was pointless, but at least worth a shot.

The electronic handle flashed green, allowing her to shove it open. "Come on!" she called out to him, glancing back and forth to make sure that no one was close to her yet.

Seg was slower. His power was lower than it should be, and his speed was not in his favor. Even so, he made an effort to divert power to his motivator, sacrificing the functionality of his weapons to do so. His dome was constantly swiveling, scanning, monitoring… but he knew that ultimately they would be stopped unless they could find a way past Global Dynamics' shields. Gliding past the doors, he was met with the strange sensation of a breeze pricking at his sensor globes. The sensation shocked him for a moment. He was _outside._ He wiggled his eyestalk, picking out Rose. They had to get to the shield controls and fast, though he doubted they could shut them down. Time was of the essence, and oh how little of it they had.

The human had already ran behind the building, throwing open the box she knew to be the controls to the shields around the base - she could get out without a problem, but Seg had been tagged with a monitor that would kill him if he tried. Looking over the controls, there were at least two areas to put in passcodes… that she didn't know. _Great_. She couldn't shout to Seg, only hoping that he'd seen where she went and was following, slow as he was. Engines could be heard in the distance, as well as shouting.

Dropping shields in an attempt to pick up speed, he was at Rose's side as quickly as possible. It was painful to watch her struggle with passcodes when he knew he had the technology (or at least some of it) that could fry the computer with millions of possible codes per second, yet he couldn't touch the controls.

Frustrated, Rose kicked the base of the box. Nothing. "I don't know if you wanna try. Or can." She instead checked the monitor on the back of Seg's casing… but she didn't have the passcode to remove that, either.

"I cannot," Seg said, a note of despair in his strange, grating voice. "I am a prisoner. I cannot or I could be killed."

The human went back to the box on the side of the building, hopelessly pressing random numbers into the keypad again. Another alarm went off. "No… no, CRAP!" she practically screamed, trying not to let tears form in her eyes. "THEY'RE GONNA CONVERT YOU IF I DON'T-" she tried yet again to put in another code, but was quickly thrown backwards and onto the ground, white sparks flying from the now weaponized box.

A black car turned the corner, smirking victoriously. "You _actually_ fell for that. I'm surprised. Normally scientists aren't _that_ stupid. But I guess you are."

The human stared down, her hands still quivering and mind reeling. She could see her skin beginning to blister already from the burns. It hurt. "Seg, get out. If your shields still work. Get. Out."

The Dalek stood his ground, pulling power into old shields as well as his weapon. He would be immobile, but he knew that running would get him no further than fighting would. He could see the hopelessness in the situation, but old instincts poured over this logic. If he was going down, he wasn't without a fight. "I HAVE FULL WEAPONS CAPABILITIES," Seg screeched, "DO NOT COME NEAR ME."

"Liar. Besides, there'll be backup here in a minute. I won't _have_ to." He kept a careful, albeit taunting distance from the Dalek nonetheless.

The Dalek wanted to shoot him. Anger flared uncontrollably. He was half tempted to leap out of his casing and attack with his own bare tentacles. He knew he could. He could rip the car apart… but he would be sacrificing his shields and weapons. He was terrified by his helplessness, and for once he could see no situation that had any plausible chance of allowing him nor Rose to escape… but perhaps he could bide Rose time. Time to think of a way of escape, even if it cost him his life… or worse, being converted.

"He's _trying to_ make you mad, Seg." Rose couldn't form a complete thought… it was all she could do to keep from vomiting. More people and at least two or three vehicles cornered the building, some with guns but others with medical equipment. Someone had handcuffs.

"Told you there'd be backup. Now I don't have to worry about it. Fortunate, because this woman is going to be the first of this division, after you, to be converted."

The first person to get near Seg would be shot. He readied himself, eyestalk swiveling as if overwhelmed from person to person. "DO NOT COME NEAR US!" he squawked, his gunstick waving as he aimed from person to person. In all the commotion, someone managed to throw a thick blanket over him, attempting to blind the Dalek before he could aim at anyone specific. It was, however, enough to make him shoot. His dome swiveled in an attempt to shake the covers off, his lights still burned bright against the sheets as he began to panic. "I CANNOT SEE! DO NOT COME NEAR ME! MY VISION IS IMPAIRED! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!"

"SEG DON'T!" Rose cried out hoarsely, doing everything she could to stay out of the way of his blind shots… which was difficult with someone keeping a tight hold on her wrists as they pulled her off the ground, snapping the cuffs on. One bolt narrowly missed her arm.

"You're gonna hit your _girlfriend_ if you keep this up," the car snarled, also having to dodge the Dalek's gun. "Would you like her dead?"

"DO NOT COME NEAR ME!" Seg yowled in desperation, ceasing fire at Rose's command. Panic filled his being, he wanted only to shoot in fear that someone would come at him and take him away, but Rose was the only one he had left to obey, and the loyalty and obedience to his commanders shined through even the blind rage.

"Seg…" Rose struggled weakly against her captors, but it was no use. She was as good as converted. "Don't fight… you have to let them near you." She didn't realize the power she had over the Dalek at first… but maybe she could use it to keep people from being killed in Seg's panic. "...we lost. If you're not gonna save yourself, we lost."

"Surrender?" he asked uncertainly.

She swallowed. "...yes."

The Dalek hesitated, a horrible aching feeling pulsing through its body as it uttered words it had never before said. "I surrender." His shields lowered, his weapon's power ceased to exist. Fear made its heart race, and he swung his eyestalk to look at Rose for reassurance that this was the right thing to do, even as officials advanced.

"I'm sorry… so, _so_ sorry…" she had to look away, the guilt eating her alive.

"Well you didn't _help_ any," the car shot back, sick of how much the creature was relying on Rose for 'emotional support.'

A couple people brought a type of cart over to the scene, quickly guiding the now-compliant Seg onto it - the car would be the only one that could pull it when loaded, but that was no problem.

"Do not be sorry," Seg said, turning to bare his icy gaze on the car now, "You have no reason to be." Even with no usual points of reference, it was obvious the Dalek was tense. His gun twitched in his socket as he pondered whether to disobey Rose's orders, but he refrained even as fear raced through his mind and his battle computer further muddled his thoughts with its constant babble.

"...yes… I do…"


	3. Chapter 3

It wasn't long before they were reunited, however. When Seg was finally taken off the cart and uncovered, he was in a large, white room filled with scientific equipment… and a huge aircraft taking up the majority of the space, already equipped for the impending conversion. Rose was on the other side of a window, still handcuffed and trying to look away from the scene.

The black car grinned almost maliciously at Seg. "And _this_ is the fun part. Now, open your casing."

"And if I do not?" he tested, not yet willing to expose himself to the car's experimentation.

"You will. I was just giving you the opportunity before I forced you." He went over to a control panel, sending a remote command to Seg's casing to open it anyways.

The Dalek squirmed as the cold white room met his organic eye, the difference in lighting making him squint. "I will not assist in your experiment," he snarled, the voice sounding even more glitched now that the casing was open. "I will not assist in my own torture."

"Whatever you choose. It's still gonna happen, though," he added, pushing a machine with several arms in front of the Dalek, allowing it to scan him before it began placing several wires on - and poking into- the being. "Besides, it won't hurt when it's all over. I know that much."

The creature erupted with a series of pained squeaking sounds, and the sensors registered it as a buzzing scream for a split second. "Good to know," he managed to spit out with hatred, egg yellow eye rolling in its socket.

Of course, it was done within a couple minutes, and much more accurately than any unassisted human could have performed. Satisfied, Seth moved over to another button. A big, red button. "Any last words?"

Seething anger flooded the Dalek's senses. He would not give Seth the satisfaction.

He gave the equivalent of a shrug. "Suit yourself." And with that, he pushed the button with his tire. The room immediately lit up with electricity surrounding both the Dalek and the aircraft. The black car made sure to stay clear.

There was a long electronic scream that soon transitioned into a more natural sounding one. As soon as the electricity died down, the modified B-57F sitting on the other side had its eyes open, and they were almost glowing with rage. It didn't take long for Seg to figure out how to move, although the shape of his new body was so different than before that he ran his wingtips into the walls more so than not. He made a beeline straight towards the black car, a primitive snarl coming from his open jaws.

Seth immediately turned tail, quickly getting ahead of the plane and trying to get to the door that led to safety. He practically slammed his tire against the scanner… but to no avail. The system wasn't caught up yet. And the only other means of escape were the massive hangar doors on the other side of the room. Not an option. He'd just have to dodge the newly converted plane until someone intervened. Shaking the fear from his psyche, he abandoned the door and shot underneath Seg's wing, trying to throw him off by outmaneuvering him.

The Dalek plane could not turn fast enough, slamming one wing into the ground in trying to do so. He was shocked by the wave of pain from the now damaged wingtip, not used to anything of the sort. Red hot anger muddled his thoughts, however, and managed to snuff out the reaction. All he wanted to do at the moment was snuff out Seth's life.

The car skidded in an attempt to avoid any sort of impact the plane was going to make with him, only to totally lose his traction and run sideways into a wall. But he didn't have a second to let the pain fade. He was prey. Revving up once again, he darted along the side of the hangar just to keep moving… but his engine no longer sounded like a flawless purr. Something was broken inside.

Still trying to compensate for his incredible bulk, Seg lashed forwards, trying to pin Seth into a corner. He was simply too large to be able to have any good battle tactic, and without his battle computer he felt almost lost. The Dalek turned plane felt his mind begin to blur under the confusion of the new body and new freedom of thought - even though his original casing had no long since ceased functioning properly. "Put me back!" he snarled in frustration, "Bring me back!"

"It doesn't go backwards, _friend_ ," he snarled, "And believe me, even if I could, I wouldn't." Someone must have gotten bored of watching him flee for his life, because the first of the two doors separating the room from the rest of the establishment slid open - the middle chamber was far too small for Seg. Seth would be safe. He quickly sped under Seg's wing again, easily dodging some of his clumsy attacks. "That's how you're going to be from now on."

With every passing moment he was growing more able to fully utilize what limited ability he currently had. He took chase, wings slamming into the walls of the doorway. If they hadn't been reinforced, he would have pulled them down to go after the car. Instead he was forced to stare the scientist in the eyes, wishing the mere force of his gaze could set the vehicle aflame. His next words were ice. "Where's Rose?"

If Seth could have willed the second door open, he would have. "Another room. I'm gonna use her to teach this division how conversions are done."

"Sick monster," Seg hissed, words being covered by a static sounding glitch in his voice.

"I've been called worse." And with a swift motion, the second door was open. Seth was free. Without a second thought, he left the angry B-57 to his own devices. The worst he could hurt was himself.


	4. Chapter 4

Everything was a blur. The second Seg was converted, Rose broke down in a fit of screaming and cursing - _especially_ when Seth showed up on their side of the window again. A couple of her coworkers looked at each other nervously, unsure what to make of the typically quiet scientist. She'd never raised her voice before. Ever. Regardless, they practically dragged her away from the window before the newly-converted Dalek could see where she went. They had their orders.

However, when the two other scientists managed to finally strap her to the 'conversion table,' as Seth called it, she stopped fighting, her breathing rough from screaming and fighting. The only acknowledgement she made to the other people were her flinches when they attached the wires to her, as per Seth's instruction.

"Not one for talking?" Seth asked, almost tauntingly.

"You destroyed my best friend."

He almost looked concerned. "And _you_ need some serious help if your best friend is a space squid." And with that, one of the other scientists pushed the final button, sending her into blackness.

xXx

Seg was still locked up in the same hangar, snarling and pacing like a rabid dog. For the first time in what had been years, the hatred he had felt as a full fledged Dalek soldier had been unleashed. All he could do was think about how to kill Seth, and how to make it painful. Every second another option came to mind, making his twisted mind fill further with bloody images and death. The only thing keeping him from falling fully into the destruction from whence he came was the hope that perhaps Rose would return, unharmed, and get them out of the wretched place. How had it come to this? A creature trapped within a metal shell, forced to become a metal shell, tossed from war and blood into peace, then pulled back into hellfire? He couldn't quite understand it, but nor could he do anything about it.

The door opened, a forklift entering with a somewhat fearful expression on her face - of course they were watching all this unfold. There were cameras everywhere. "...please don't hurt me."

The plane bared his teeth, a dangerous growl emanating from his parted lips. "Who are you?"

She flinched back. "...Seg, it's me. Rose."

His eyes softened, but still his fangs showed. He wanted only to protect her, hide her away from everyone so they could no longer hurt her. What they had done to her… what they had done to _him…_ was unforgivable. He snarled, "Why did they do this to you?"

"They're doing it to everyone… there's only a couple real humans left in this division. It's… it's really bad."

Something within Seg ached for his old self. For _their_ old selves. There was nothing pleasant about being born a Dalek, but still he wished he could feel familiar within his own skin and shell. "Why waste time converting humans that are not sick… why waste time converting creatures that have no quarrel with them?"

"If they wait until people get it, it would be too late… the disease moves too fast. They don't know what its scope is or what species it's infecting… or anything." She sighed shakily, trying to change the subject. "They needed me to check something in your cockpit… are you gonna be okay with that?"

The plane bristled, but nodded, grimacing. "All this is foolish. All this could have been avoided."

Rose was quiet for a moment, fumbling with the tools she was carrying as she moved up the ramp to a catwalk Seg somehow hadn't totally destroyed. "...everyone knows that… but we can't really do anything about it. Come over here," she told him.

He did as he was told, moving over to the catwalk, though it was almost impossible for him to stay still. His anger was consuming him. He had to move. He had to put up a fight. It was almost impossible for him to stay in one spot. "I could have done something about it. I could have helped in finding a cure. I could have broken out earlier and got both of us off this planet. I should have. I should have done _something_."

"You're not thinking straight. Ugh, just sit still for a few seconds! All I have to do is get a reading!" Rose was getting more frustrated by the second, though the sadness in her eyes betrayed her. "...you need to stop talking like that. We can't change anything."

He tried to gather his thoughts, steady his mind, but he felt he had to keep moving… it was the only way to expend the pent up energy he had within him. However, he bit his tongue and tried to stop himself from fidgeting. "We can't change the past… but we can change the future," he said in a deadly voice. "What do they even expect of me?"

"To work for them," she stated somewhat bitterly. "And if you can't calm yourself something really bad is going to happen to you… worse than conversion." At least he was sitting still for the time being.

"Death?" he sneered, "Death would be a gift. That's what they'll have to do… they'll have to kill me. I won't work for them. I won't work for the people who needlessly destroyed my life as I know it."

"It's worse than that… they wouldn't kill you… you don't understand… they're trying to find a way to _make_ people work for them."

Seg cackled psychotically, yet when he opened his mouth to speak he spoke in even, thoughtful tones. "I've escaped the whole of the _Dalek Empire_. Their method of mind control is far greater than anything this planet could accomplish. You weak, measly Humans know nothing of what it means to control others. You know nothing of power - only your illusion of it. Try as you might, but I cannot fall to your mind games."

" _My_ mind games? I'm not Them! I'm trying to keep Them from trying to experiment on you _more!"_

The plane went quiet, "You might be the only redeeming individual your race has to offer… but it does not make you disconnected from them. _Humans_. A miserable race… proclaiming peace and humanity. Humanity! I've seen Daleks show more of your so-called 'humanity' then many of your species."

She managed to get her reading while he was talking, shutting his cockpit as gently as she could. The results were not good. "I wish you'd think differently…" she said sadly, getting down off the catwalk. "...every species has its own problems."

At this point he didn't care how insulting he sounded. He was fed up to the brim with Human idiocy. "I come from a group of murdering clowns willing to commit genocide of the entire universe even if it meant a single Dalek would reign supreme. You think I don't know that? But at least your race has a _choice_. What for us is forced upon us since the moment we're pulled out of whatever test tube we hail from we're forced to do as we do. I'm not excusing their - and my own - behavior, but it's a heck of alot better an excuse than you Humans have."

" _Had_ a choice… I made mine when I tried to help you, but humans as a whole…" she stared at her own arms with a renewed sense of horror. "...they won. Majority rules."

"They won't win until you let them win," Seg growled softly.

"What else can I _do?!_ They converted both of us and I can't do so much as hold a pencil anymore. They… they won't kill me... even if I go against them… they'll just make it worse."

"Don't let them break you. Don't let them get into your head, tell their lies, and twist your thinking. Do anything you can in small ways to stop them or slow them down. _Anything_. The most important thing is that you don't fall for their tricks."

"...I hope I can."


End file.
